Recipe of the week: MVM (most valuable marinade)

The recipe I am about to share with you is my most valuable marinade and probably my most prized recipe of all time. I learned this marinade back when I was going to school down in Southern California and was just learning how to cook. One of my friends down there was a pretty good cook and BBQ'd steak for us one day and it was absolutely amazing. It wasn't like anything I had ever eaten before, it was so flavorful, every bite of the steak just gushed juice and an amazing garlic flavor. It also had a great little spicy kick to it. As soon as I took my first bite I knew I had to have the recipe. It was so good, I was skeptical he would share it with me, but alas he did and I've seriously been using it probably at least 5 times a year for the last 6+ years.

This recipe is basically fool proof, really easy to make, and consistently really, really, really good. I've shared this marinade numerous times from my closest friends to strangers at Husky tailgate BBQ's who just had to have the recipe. However the time has come to share it with the world. I know I've built it up a lot, but I think you'll enjoy it just as much as I have.

What's great about this recipe is that it is very versatile. I usually make this with 3-5 lbs of tri tip steak, but I've also done pork tenderloin, chicken thighs and drumsticks, and flank steak. Basically any hearty dark meat will work well.

Dan's Steak Marinade (Named after the genius who shared this recipe with me)

In a blender add the following:

• 1 cup olive oil
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 2 T A1 steaksauce
• 2 T worcheshire sauce
• fresh ground black pepper
• few dashes of cayenne pepper depends on how spicy you like it
• KEY INGREDIENT: One whole head of garlic, remove the skin from each clove and put the cloves in the blender

Blend everything to a smoother consistency and pour over your meat into a gallon sized ziplock bag. If you need to use two bags do that.

Now this takes a little bit of planning, but marinate for two days if possible and rotate the meat a few times a day. Also if you have more than one fridge, I would recommend you store the marinade in the one you use the least because this stuff is overpowering.

After you are done marinating the steak, heat up the grill and let the fire do the rest of the work. Of course I only recommend grilling with charcoal (no lighter fluid, use a chimney or propane starter) or propane grill if you have to. This will ensure the best flavor. Also keep an eye on the meat because the marinade can cause the BBQ to flame up and you don't want your meat to get burnt. Depending on what your cooking, cook it for a few minutes on each side and when rare to medium rare, pull it and let it sit on a cutting board for about 10 minutes. Then slice it up and serve. I like to throw a few tortillas on the hot grill for a few seconds each side to serve with the steak. It also goes really well with guacamole. I'll have to share that recipe later.

Anyhow hard to mess this one up, unless you don't give it enough time. If you are short on time, try poking holes in your meat with a fork and hopefully that will help.

Good luck and let me know if you ever try out this recipe!

- Kyle